This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.
Rating
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The Role
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The Company
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The Culture
- 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
- 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
- 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
- 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
- 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
- 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
- 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
- 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
- 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
- 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
- 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
- 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
- 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
- 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
- 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
The Role
SAP has helped me gain invaluable experience in a corporate environment which I never would've learnt at university. I've had some great experiences at the company and been given the chance to develop my skills and learn from some very experienced professionals. I do wish I could've gained more experience in sales but understand this is difficult when customer- facing meetings are so important.
I felt valued by not only my team members but also other employees that I worked with across the business during my time at SAP. I got involved in as many projects as possible and was often given a lot of responsibility which I really enjoyed. SAP really does need its placement students which makes the placement year more enjoyable as you feel valued.
My managers were always willing to provide support or advice if I needed or wanted it. Although sometimes they were very busy so I had to use my initiative they were always approachable and helpful to learn from. We were also assigned a buddy we could go to for any issues that we didn't talk to our managers about which was good.
This varied a lot for me- some days I would be extremely busy with lots of important tasks to complete and time management skills were crucial. Other days were too quiet for my liking but this did give me the chance to catch up on things and do some trainings/ get involved in other projects.
I was given a lot of responsibility during my placement, including providing information to board members. Obviously if I got this wrong it could have big consequences but it made the job more interesting. I learnt the importance of knowing who to contact in certain situations and how to prioritise my time and tasks effectively
The skills I have learnt this year have far exceeded the ones I could've learn just from doing a three year course at university without a placement. My communication, time management, organisation and overall office skills have improved a lot. I've also learnt how to conduct myself in a business environment and feel I will be a lot more productive and efficient when I return to university next year.
The Company
Towards the end of quarters, the atmosphere was buzzing, busy and constantly changing. There was always a lot to do and the deals were progressing quickly so it was exciting to hear all the updates and help my managers where they needed support. At other times near the beginning/ middle of quarters it could sometimes be dull but it was nice to have the other interns around and such a nice office environment if I ever needed a break.
Pretty well organised- our managers had things for us to do and Human Resources also planned some intern development days which were great. We got to help out with the recruitment process and planned their onboarding sessions which I think is excellent because we know what they will need to learn and how long it will take the new interns to pick things.
SAP paid for us to have two development days for which we had a choice on topics for. These were interesting and also a good opportunity to talk to the other placement students about their experiences so far. We also had the freedom to explore other areas of the business where we wanted to gain experience which I really enjoyed.
Flexi Time
Subsidised Canteen
Sports and Social Club
Company Parties/Events
Staff Sales/Staff Shop
Above 25 days holiday
Working from home
There are some appealing and well paid jobs available for graduates which would be great experience as a starting point for a career. I would love to be customer facing and SAP offers these roles with amazing training opportunities included. However, as I have already worked here for 13 months I would also like to look at some other companies' grad schemes, especially ones that have better situated offices more central to London.
The Culture
There was a great social scene between the placement students and I also found them to be a great support system when having a stressful day at work for example. We organised lots of outings together which was great. The only downside was the location of the office (by Heathrow) as going for spontaneous outings after work was harder due to most people driving in and the nearest bars being a 20 min train ride/ drive away.
Pretty cheap as i commuted from Reading.
Had to get a train to get to any nightlife...
netball and football
Details
Placement (10 Months+)
Business Management, Information Technology, Sales
South East
June 2016